Michael Archie may be in a wheelchair, but he said last January's shooting hasn't stopped his momentum.
The former Mississippi Valley State basketball player is still a regular at school sporting events and stays busy with academics and other activities. The 21-year-old junior is majoring in health and physical education, specializing in adaptive issues.
"I get around pretty good," he said. "I traveled to a lot of Valley's road football games. I don't think my injury's slowed me down at all. I get around a little bit more now than I did before my injury."
Now he does most of his rehab on his own, working on necessary day-to-day tasks. He also works out with dumbbells, does hand-strengthening exercises and stretches three times a week to maintain his range of motion.
His mother, Carol Archie, said he is progressing very well and hasn't let his injury hold him back. "He's not giving us any grief at all, and we're thankful that he has that attitude," she said.
While going through rehabilitation at the Sheppard Center in Atlanta last year, he practiced with the hand controls that he would need to operate a car. He's gotten better and better at that - so much so that he even got a speeding ticket once.
"People don't seem to believe me when I say my foot got a little heavy," he said, smiling.
Archie said he is proud of the MVSU basketball team and the success it has enjoyed this year.
In fact, he said, "they already said that when we win the SWAC championship, I'll get a ring, too."
Archie also has been able to do some traveling.
Through Mobility International, an organization that helps link physically challenged people with internships and other opportunities, he received a fellowship to do work in international studies with the Delta Research and Cultural Institute.
Most of his work with the Institute consists of office tasks and helping with research. Among other issues, the institute looks for ways to incorporate African-American studies into the curriculum.
But the fellowship also enabled him and his family to travel last summer to the Bahamas. There, he observed the accessibility options and got the feel of traveling as a paraplegic.
He is scheduled to go to Italy in April.
At home in Greenwood, his parents are having a new living area built for him that will accommodate his needs.
And people in Greenwood continue to support him, he said. "Anytime I'm out and about, people ask me how I'm doing," he said. "It's overwhelming, the support I get."
His mother said John Pittman of Planters Bank in particular has been "a godsend" helping the family.
"His whole thing was, if you can't help somebody when they really need it, then what good is it?" she said.
